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the Church-a history, part two

As I have stated in part one, there are many who post here who seem to be quite ignorant of certain history. I thought I would post this, in several parts. Part two follows.

Heresy

by Barbara G. Walker

(continued)

By the twelfth century it became afirm rule that all who entered holyorders must turn over all their propertyto the church. Wealthy femalelandowners who had joined conventsin order to keep their property tothemselves were now threatened withexcommunication and prison. Somegroups of nuns, such as the well-

endowed and enlightened teachingorder of Beguines, were forced to integrateinto papally approved orderswhere education of, and teaching by,women was forbidden, and all realestate and other valuables were appropriatedby the church. Frequently, theformerly female-owned buildings wereconverted into dwellings and prisonhousesfor the Inquisition.29 Suchrules, together with its crusades andwars of acquisition, made the churchthe owner of nearly half of all the feudallands in Europe. Here began theera of Renaissance heresy-hunting,when the greed and corruption of thechurch were at their height, and criticswere attacked with the most ruthlesscruelty ever seen in the history of civilization,surpassing even the Nazi holocaustof the twentieth century. Thatholocaust lasted less than ten years.The church’s version lasted more thanfive hundred years, and its Inquisitionis still nominally part of the HolyOffice.The Inquisition was created to winthe war between the church and thedisillusioned public, during the periodwhen ecclesiastical corruption was atits height. It was established by a seriesof papal bulls, notably the 1251 Adextirpanda of Pope Innocent IV, de -scribed by J.B. Russell as “a terriblemeasure against heretics . . . authorizingseizure of their goods, imprisonment,torture, and . . . death, all onminimal evidence.”30 The “minimalevidence” was usually obtained by torturingprevious victims until they gavenames of so-called accomplices, whowere then arrested and tortured tocontribute more names, and so on,until whole villages were implicatedand everyone went in terror of thedevil on the one hand, and the churchon the other.Only a few decades ago, Catholicmanuals mendaciously claimed thatthe Inquisition was a purely civil tribunal,established to punish secularcrimes.31 Actually, the Inquisition wasnot interested in secular crimes exceptas they might relate to heresy, the oneoffense whereby otherwise law-abidingcitizens could merit the death penalty.Even today, Catholic sources continuetrying to falsify the staggering numbersof legal murders committed by theInquisition and the extraordinary crueltyof its methods.The great historian Henry CharlesLea considered the Inquisition “astanding mockery of justice—perhapsthe most iniquitous that the arbitrarycruelty of man has ever devised. . . .Fanatic zeal, arbitrary cruelty, and insatiablecupidity rivaled each other inbuilding up a system unspeakably atrocious.It was a system which might wellseem the invention of demons.”32Here’s how it worked. 1) All procedureswere kept secret. 2) “Commonreport” and hearsay were accepted asproof of guilt. 3) The accused wasnever told of the nature of the chargesnor allowed legal counsel. 4) Witnesseswere kept concealed. 5) Perjurers,excommunicates, or children couldgive evidence. 6) No favorable evidenceor character witnesses were permitted.In any case, anyone who spokefor an accused heretic was arrested asan accomplice. 7) Torture was usedalways, without limit of duration orseverity. (Official sources said that torturecould be used “only once,” butweeks or months of daily torturingwere simply described as “continuations.”)Even if the accused confessedbe fore torture, the torture was appliedanyway, to “validate” the confession. Ifthe accused died under torture, the re -cord stated that the devilbroke his neck in prison.8) The accused wasforced to confirm undertorture the names of“accomplices” suggestedto him by the judges. 9)No accused person wasfound innocent.33The rule of confiscationwas what made theInquisition so enormouslyprofitable. All the pro perty of anaccused heretic could be seized by thechurch immediately upon his arrest.The popes praised the rule of confiscationas a prime weapon againstheresy.34 Victims were expected to paythe expenses of their own imprisonmentas well, even to pay for the ropes,wood, and stakes used to kill them.There was a schedule of fees for eachtorture operation. Those withoutmoney could starve to death in prison.Pope Gregory XI wrote that too manyaccused heretics were dying of starvationin prison before they could bebrought to the stake, and he offeredindulgences to all who would donatefood to them. Lea comments: “Thereis something so appallingly grotesquein tearing honest, industrious folkfrom their homes by the thousand, inthrusting them into dungeons to rotand starve, and then evading the costof feeding them by presenting them tothe faithful as objects of charity, thatthe proclamation which Gregoryissued August 15, 1376, is perhaps themost shameless monument of a shamelessage.”35The title of Inquisitor was appliedfor the first time to the judges whoinvestigated the Albigensian heresy inthe south of France, which was “themost civilized land in Europe” in thetwelfth century, according to Briffault:“There commerce, industry, art, sciencehad been far in advance of theage. The cities had won virtual self-government,were proud of their wealthand strength, jealous of their liberties. . . The nobles, for the most part, werecultivated men, poets themselves orpatrons of poetry, who had learned . . .that municipal liberties were a safeguardrather than a menace to the wiseruler.”36 The church’s problem wasthat these enlightened people paid noallegiance to Rome, followed Gnosticbeliefs concerning reincarnation andthe demonic nature of the biblicalJehovah, condemned idolatry, deniedthe Trinity, and refused the sacramentsof the Roman Church, which theycalled the Synagogue of Satan.

In 1209 Pope Innocent II preacheda great crusade against the Albigen -sians (also called Cathari), whichresulted in the extermination of halfthe population of France. When thepapal legate was asked how the crusadersmight distinguish the hereticsfrom the faithful, he answered: “Killthem all—God will know his own.”37 Ithas been written that more than a millionpeople were slaughtered.38Briffault says, “A people of rare giftshad been tortured, decimated, humiliated,despoiled . . . The pre cocious civilizationwhich had promised to leadEurope in the path of culture wasgone, and to Italy was transmitted thehonour of the Renaissance.”39A 19th-century prelate tried todefend the church’s actions againstthe Albigensians by sayingthat their heretical opinions“brought violent disturbanceinto men’sminds,” in keeping withthe traditional ecclesiasticaldefinition of any theologicaldiversity as violentdisturbance.40 However, amassacre on the scale ofthe Albi gen sian crusademay be considered a disturbanceconsiderably more violent.The riches brought into the churchby this campaign encouraged furtherforays against heresy in all the countriesof Europe. Mass executionsbecame commonplace, one inquisitorialchronicler describing the burningof 180 people at once as a “holocaustvery great and pleasing to God.”41Popes praised the Inquisition’s soldiers,as when Pope Gregory XIII sentcongratulations on the slaughter often thousand French Protestants: “Werejoice . . . that with the help of Godyou have relieved the world of thesewretched heretics.”42 Of course it wasnot the world but the church that wasworried about their existence.Heresy, or dissatisfaction with thechurch’s ways of thinking and doing,was actually spread instead of stifled bythe violence of its punishments. Hereand there a few honest clerics spokeup against the abuses of their superiors;some paid with their lives for theirboldness, like Brother Raymond Jean,executed for preaching: “The enemiesof the faith are among ourselves. TheChurch which governs us is symboledby the Great Whore of the Apocalypse,who persecutes the poor.”43 Nicholasde Clamanges, rector of the Universityof Paris, said in an open letter that thepopes were ravishers rather than pastorsof their flocks: “The priesthoodhas become a misery reduced to profaningits calling . . . Who do you thinkcan endure, among so many otherabuses, your mercenary appointments,your multiple sales of benefices, yourelevation of men without honesty orvirtue to the most eminent positions?”44 Even the revered St. Bernarddeplored the church’s greed: “Whomcan you show me among the prelateswho does not seek rather to empty thepockets of his flock than to subduetheir vices?”45The Spiritual Franciscans, orFraticelli, were declared heretics whenthey withdrew from the orthodoxFranciscan order and claimed that thepope and all his kind were tainted withthe sin of simony; that because of itsevil, the church had been excommunicatedby God, and the pope was anAntichrist. In direct opposition to thechurch’s official declarations, theyinsisted that Jesus was a poor man, andgood Christians should be similarlyfree of acquisitiveness, as St. Francishimself had taught.Needless to say, these well-meaningheretics didn’t last long. A whole townin Italy, Magnalata, known to be one oftheir centers, was leveled to theground by order of Pope Martin V, andevery inhabitant of the town wasslain.46 Other Franciscans, however,continued to supply judges and otherpersonnel for the Inquisition, alongwith the Dominicans, who earned thepunning title of Domini Canes, theHounds of God. In 1325, Pope JohnXXII issued a bull “infallibly” declaringit heretical to say that Jesus and hisapostles owned no property, and or -der ing inquisitors to prosecute thosewho called Jesus a poor man. Thepope had 114 Spiritual Franciscansburned alive, just to drive the pointhome.47The legend of St. Francis alsoinspired an Italian peasant namedSegarelli, who tried to join theFranciscan order and was rejected.Still, he believed himself a true spiritualson of St. Francis, and founded hisown order, which was named theApostolic Congregation, preachingagainst the worldly wealth of thechurch. Segarelli was caught andburned, but the Apostolic Congre ga -tion continued under the leadershipof Fra Dolcino, hence they came to becalled Dolcinists. They welcomedwomen to their order and grantedtheir “Sisters in Christ” the same rightto preach and lead prayers as the menhad. They claimed to renounce sexualrelations, so when Fra Dolcino’s particularlybeloved Sister in Christ,Margherita, bore him a child, it wasannounced as a miracle brought aboutby the Holy Ghost.Three crusades were preachedagainst these tenacious heretics.Finally, in the harsh winter of 1307,they were trapped in a mountain hideaway,reduced to starvation, andslaughtered. After watching his dearlybeloved Sister Margherita burned todeath, Fra Dolcino was slowly torn topieces by red-hot pincers on a cart thatrolled along public roads, where everyonecould see the edifying spectacleand learn the consequences ofheresy.48The Inquisition invented many newand ingenious ways to increase itstreasures, such as accusing the dead ofheresy in order to dig up and burntheir remains, and take property awayfrom their legal heirs, on the groundthat heretics couldn’t own anything.49If a person, fearing that he was aboutto be arrested, should commit suicideto cheat the torturer, all his propertywas automatically taken by the church.Families were left destitute by this rule,and no one dared to help them forfear of reprisals. The Inquisition thusestablished the law of property seizurefor suicides, which remained in forcein most European countries until1870.50 The use of torture in ecclesiasticaltribunals was officially sanctionedin 1257 and remained a legal recoursefor the church for five and a half centuries,until it was abolished by PopePius VII in 1816.51There was at least one inquisitorialjudge who experienced a revulsion forhis lifework and dared to say that hisvictims’ confessions were false, dueonly to the agony of the torture. Hisname was Dietrich Flade. His archbishophad him arrested and put on therack until Flade admitted having spokenheresy because he sold his soul tothe devil. Then he was burned.52The Inquisition remained activeuntil 1834, especially in Central andSouth America, where the “heathen”natives were tortured and killed forcrimes against the true faith, such asnot believing in it.53 Many NativeAmericans were burned at the Missionof San Francisco before the tribes werepersuaded to accept the Word ofGod.54 As far away as India, in the latesixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,the Inquisition killed nearlyfour thousand people in the district ofGoa.56

And still the Inquisition has itsdefenders. At the beginning of thetwentieth century a cardinal, endorsedby Pope Pius X, wrote: “The naked factthat the Church, of her own authority,has tried heretics and condemnedthem . . . shows that she truly has theright of killing . . . Who dares to say

that the Church has erred in a matterso grave as this?”57 Of course, quite afew have dared to say so, especiallysome women who were understandablyan noyed by the linguistic habit ofreferring to this all-male and fiercelyautocratic church as “she.”One of the most famous victims ofthe Inquisition was Giordano Bruno,one of the best thinkers of the sixteenthcentury, a forerunner ofphilosophers like Leibniz and Spinoza.Accused of heresy at his monasteryschool, he fled to Rome, was accusedagain, and traveled through Swit zer -land, Germany, France and England asa teacher. He introduced the doctrineof evolution, identified the circulationof the blood (later confirmed byHarvey), and lectured on the theoriesof Copernicus, anticipating Galileoand Kepler. Sensing heresy in thesematters, the authorities at Oxfordasked him to leave. He returned toEurope and was cordially invited toVenice by an Italian nobleman hiredby the Inquisition to entice him. Hewas immediately arrested for heresy,languished in solitary confinement forseven years, was tortured, and finallywas burned to death in 1600 on theCampo di Fiora in Rome, close to theVatican, where his memorial statue,erected by freethinkers, now stands.58Another notable heretic was theSpanish theologian and writer MichaelServetus, who was burned in 1553. Hewas arrested by the inquisitor-generalof Lyons for denying the Trinity andpublishing other heretical ideas. Hemanaged to escape, and fled to theProtestant stronghold of Geneva—anunfortunate choice, because it was thetheological territory of John Calvin,who had declared himself Servetus’enemy. Calvin helped to arrange hissecond arrest, leading to his trial andexecution. Calvin wrote that Servetus’views were “such detestable heresy asto abolish the whole Christian religion”and Servetus could “destroy allthe fundamentals of the faith.”59 Sofearful are the faithful!The Quakers were often accused of“ungodding God,” or “robbing God ofhis glory,” or “deposing the majesty ofGod himself,” showing that on somelevel their critics believed God to bevery vulnerable, a mere bit ofephemera capable of beingblown away by a breath. Seven -teenth-century England forbadepublications that might doubt theTrinity, “to the great dishonor ofGod” and even verbally denyingthat Jesus was God was de clared acapital offense.60 Believers’ mosthomicidal rage has always beenaroused by those who suggest thatbelief may be unfounded.During the Age of En light -enment, the panic of orthodoxtheologians became even greater.Pope Gregory XVI in his 1832bull Mirari vos said liberty of conscienceis madness, and any workadvocating freedom of religion,freedom of the press, freedom ofassembly, or freedom of educationis “a filthy sewer full of hereticalvomit.”61 (So much for “Americanprinciples;” the papacy has “infallibly”condemned them.)

) All procedureswere kept secret. 2) “Commonreport” and hearsay were accepted asproof of guilt. 3) The accused wasnever told of the nature of the chargesnor allowed legal counsel. 4) Witnesseswere kept concealed. 5) Perjurers,excommunicates, or children couldgive evidence. 6) No favorable evidenceor character witnesses were permitted.In any case, anyone who spokefor an accused heretic was arrested asan accomplice. 7) Torture was usedalways, without limit of duration orseverity. (Official sources said that torturecould be used “only once,” butweeks or months of daily torturingwere simply described as “continuations.”)

I wish you would title that the "Catholic" church, because that is not the history of my church, in fact we were condemned for not accepting their baptisms because they went against the way the Bible said to do it. The Baptist Church (which got the name Anabaptist because of the baptism issue) was persecuted by the catholic church. Read the Trail of Blood. It is very interesting.

I wish you would title that the "Catholic" church, because that is not the history of my church, in fact we were condemned for not accepting their baptisms because they went against the way the Bible said to do it. The Baptist Church (which got the name Anabaptist because of the baptism issue) was persecuted by the catholic church. Read the Trail of Blood. It is very interesting.

Yeah, the Catholic church is not really my church but I do like reading about the history of some Christians... I have always heard they did mean things "in the name of God," and such...thanks for posting! Though these kind of things make no difference in my beliefs (not saying that is what you are aiming for).

"When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads. "-Ron Paul
"The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it."- Woodrow Wilson

I am a Catholic...the Holy Spirit is the Author of TRUTH...not this Barbara Walker! There is so much false info out there...it's ridiculous! GW when did you take yrs. of theology to become a Biblical Scholar!? The Catholic Church has w/ stood 2000+ yrs. of attacks & false writings such as this & she will certainly endure from your attempts to discredit her. I love the way you deem yourself some authority concerning the Church...hmm Jesus warned about this! Christianity will prevail & so will the Church! Upon this Rock I will build my Church & the gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her. Matthew 16:18 I have read & studied about the Saints of the Church...the Popes...the teachings & doctrines etc. since my conversion in 1978. Sadly some will surrender to this garbage! I feel very sorry for this Barbara Walker when she meets God~+

In order to know God you must seek Him w/ a humble & prayerful heart. Walker is an atheist so this would be impossible since they do not believe in or embrace Almighty God w/ humility & love. She is bias & will not seek the Truth only her version of what she deems to be true~

Barbara G. Walker describes herself as an atheist. In the book, The Skeptical Feminist: Discovering the Virgin, Mother, and Crone, she writes about her belief that there is no deity. However, she believes that people, and woman in particular, can use the image of the Goddess in their day-to-day lives. Her book Woman's Rituals: A Sourcebook is an attempt to show how she puts her "meditation techniques" into practice, and is meant as a guide for other women to do the same thing.

In the 1960s and 1970s, she authored several volumes of knitting references which have become landmarks for their comprehensiveness and clarity.[citation needed] Her knitting treasury series documents over a thousand different knitting stitches. Other books considered mosaic knitting, for producing multicolored designs while knitting only one color per row, and constructing knitted garments from the top-down rather than the usual bottom-up method used in western knitting tradition. Her legacy continues with the reprinting of most of her knitting books, starting in the mid-1990s, as well as the publication of new contributions to the knitting literature.

Barbara G. Walker studied journalism at the University of Pennsylvania and began working for the Washington Star in Washington, D.C. While serving on a local hotline in the mid 1970s, helping battered women and pregnant teens, she became interested in feminism. The American Humanist Association named her "Humanist Heroine" in 1993, and in 1995 she received the "Women Making Herstory" award from the New Jersey NOW.

Indeed, the holy spirit does speak truth which is why reading these kind of things have no affect on me except to learn. I know through experiences in my life that God is real; God has been evident in my life and I also know that only a Christian can understand what I mean.I don't actually ever agree with her on anything and I don't know what her reasoning for posting this what BUT I find these type of things interesting.

Quoting blondekosmic15:

I am a Catholic...the Holy Spirit is the Author of TRUTH...not this Barbara Walker! There is so much false info out there...it's ridiculous! GW when did you take yrs. of theology to become a Biblical Scholar!? The Catholic Church has w/ stood 2000+ yrs. of attacks & false writings such as this & she will certainly endure from your attempts to discredit her. I love the way you deem yourself some authority concerning the Church...hmm Jesus warned about this! Christianity will prevail & so will the Church! Upon this Rock I will build my Church & the gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her. Matthew 16:18 I have read & studied about the Saints of the Church...the Popes...the teachings & doctrines etc. since my conversion in 1978. Sadly some will surrender to this garbage! I feel very sorry for this Barbara Walker when she meets God~+

In order to know God you must seek Him w/ a humble & prayerful heart. Walker is an atheist so this would be impossible since they do not believe in or embrace Almighty God w/ humility & love. She is bias & will not seek the Truth only her version of what she deems to be true~

"When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads. "-Ron Paul
"The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it."- Woodrow Wilson

Indeed, the holy spirit does speak truth which is why reading these kind of things have no affect on me except to learn. I know through experiences in my life that God is real; God has been evident in my life and I also know that only a Christian can understand what I mean.I don't actually ever agree with her on anything and I don't know what her reasoning for posting this what BUT I find these type of things interesting.

Quoting blondekosmic15:

I am a Catholic...the Holy Spirit is the Author of TRUTH...not this Barbara Walker! There is so much false info out there...it's ridiculous! GW when did you take yrs. of theology to become a Biblical Scholar!? The Catholic Church has w/ stood 2000+ yrs. of attacks & false writings such as this & she will certainly endure from your attempts to discredit her. I love the way you deem yourself some authority concerning the Church...hmm Jesus warned about this! Christianity will prevail & so will the Church! Upon this Rock I will build my Church & the gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her. Matthew 16:18 I have read & studied about the Saints of the Church...the Popes...the teachings & doctrines etc. since my conversion in 1978. Sadly some will surrender to this garbage! I feel very sorry for this Barbara Walker when she meets God~+

In order to know God you must seek Him w/ a humble & prayerful heart. Walker is an atheist so this would be impossible since they do not believe in or embrace Almighty God w/ humility & love. She is bias & will not seek the Truth only her version of what she deems to be true~

Thank you for your comment....as a Christian than you will understand that to fully know God & his Church...you must seek him 1st. The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds & hearts interiorly w/ the Truth & wisdom concerning the reality of Biblical history thru out the Centuries even the early yrs. Yes, sadly there will be some apples which may fall from the tree but the Church & her Biblical teachings will remain sound til the end of time! Jesus Christ is the same * yesterday * today * forever. Our Lord warns about the weeds growing w/ the wheat so obviously there will be those who fall from the Truth or who never chose to embrace it @ all. They will attempt to infiltrate the Church w/ hatred & violence for the purpose of her destruction. What we must be equally concerned about are those who strike @ the Church from the outside due to their lack of understanding or b/c they hate her & wish to deceive others into accepting false writings portraying the Church as evil & self-seeking. The early yrs. of the Church has been labeled as such by some absent of any authentic research into those particular happenings during that period in history! This has been taking place for Centuries now but the Church will prevail as Jesus promised~+

Bishop Fulton Sheen warned....Satan use to be outside the Church...he's inside now. He was not referring to the Church being unholy by any means but warning that there will be those who will come into the Church who are sinful for the sake of deception & taking many souls away from Jesus Christ who is the Way * the Truth * the Life+

Blonde, do you mean the like the false writings/teachings of John Darby and Cyrus Scofield? You know, how the Catholics believe in the pre-tribulation rapture? Or perhaps it's those "chosen few" and Israel that you espouse?

What does the Pope or the Vatican say about those things? I hope you will answer this time.

Quoting blondekosmic15:

Quoting rocklovinggirl:

Indeed, the holy spirit does speak truth which is why reading these kind of things have no affect on me except to learn. I know through experiences in my life that God is real; God has been evident in my life and I also know that only a Christian can understand what I mean.I don't actually ever agree with her on anything and I don't know what her reasoning for posting this what BUT I find these type of things interesting.

Quoting blondekosmic15:

I am a Catholic...the Holy Spirit is the Author of TRUTH...not this Barbara Walker! There is so much false info out there...it's ridiculous!GW when did you take yrs. of theology to become a Biblical Scholar!? The Catholic Church has w/ stood 2000+ yrs. of attacks & false writings such as this & she will certainly endure from your attempts to discredit her. I love the way you deem yourself some authority concerning the Church...hmm Jesus warned about this! Christianity will prevail & so will the Church! Upon this Rock I will build my Church & the gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her. Matthew 16:18 I have read & studied about the Saints of the Church...the Popes...the teachings & doctrines etc. since my conversion in 1978. Sadly some will surrender to this garbage! I feel very sorry for this Barbara Walker BLONDEKOSMIC when she meets God~+

In order to know God you must seek Him w/ a humble & prayerful heart. Walker is an atheist so this would be impossible since they do not believe in or embrace Almighty God w/ humility & love. She is bias & will not seek the Truth only her version of what she deems to be true~

Thank you for your comment....as a Christian than you will understand that to fully know God & his Church...you must seek him 1st. The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds & hearts interiorly w/ the Truth & wisdom concerning the reality of Biblical history thru out the Centuries even the early yrs. Yes, sadly there will be some apples which may fall from the tree but the Church & her Biblical teachings will remain sound til the end of time! Jesus Christ is the same * yesterday * today * forever. Our Lord warns about the weeds growing w/ the wheat so obviously there will be those who fall from the Truth or who never chose to embrace it @ all. They will attempt to infiltrate the Church w/ hatred & violence for the purpose of her destruction. What we must be equally concerned about are those who strike @ the Church from the outside due to their lack of understanding or b/c they hate her & wish to deceive others into accepting false writings portraying the Church as evil & self-seeking. This has been taking place for Centuries now but the Church will prevail as Jesus promised~+

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